Ambulance took agonizingly long to reach dying boy

Kayson Shelton died in a tragic accident after climbing a dolphin statue that fell on him last Friday at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. (CBS SF)

Police arrived in a minute and a half and a fire truck was there in 2 1/2 minutes, but it took a San Francisco Fire Department ambulance 13 minutes to arrive at Fisherman’s Wharf after the 911 call came in about the accident Friday that claimed the life of 2-year-old Kayson Shelton.

According to a source familiar with the incident, the initial call from Kayson’s father was calm after a dolphin statue outside a Jefferson Street art gallery fell on the boy as he was climbing on it. He said Kayson had a nose bleed and had lost consciousness.

The only ambulance available at the time was across town at Oak and Stanyan streets. All the other 15 ambulances on city streets were already on runs.

The Fire Department’s goal is to have an ambulance on scene within 10 minutes, said department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge.Friday’s circumstances were “unfortunate,” she said.